Gauging means for shoe machines



Dec. 15 1942. A. L. RUSSELL IETAL' 2,304,959

GAUGING MEANS FOR SHOE MACHINES Filed Jan. 25,1941 2 Sheets-She et 1Dec. 15, 1942.

A. L. RUSSELL ETAL GAUGING MEANS FOR SHOE MACHINES Filed Jan. 25, 194i 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 15, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEGAUGING MEANS FOR SHOE MACHINES Arthur L. Russell, Boston, and John T.Lancaster,

Newton, Mass, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation,Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 25,1941, Serial No. 375,960

29 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for operating upon portions of shoes,it being especially applicable to the attachment of heel-parts, as basesand top-lifts.

In heel-attaching machines, a shoe, presented to fastening-insertingmechanism upon a jack or like support, is capable of some angularmovement about the longitudinal axis of the jack. An example of amachine in which this may occur is found in Letters Patent of the UnitedStates No. 1,157,688, Glidden, October 26, 1915. To locate the heel-seatof the shoe in the proper relation to a heel or a top-lift presented ina swing-plate or other holder, the operator varies the angle of the shoeabout the axis of the jack, until he believes that the breast-line ofthe heel or top-lift lies at a correct angle across the shank-portion ofthe shoe, and the peripheries of the heel-seat and those of theheel-parts agree in contour. This is commonly effected by mereinspection of the work, a method which does not give satisfactoryresults unless the operator is highly skillful, or an undue amount oftime is spent. An object of this invention is to enable an operator todetermine rapidly and accurately the angular position of a shoe withrelation to a part to be attached to it, this being accomplished bycompactly arranged means which inno way interferes with the manipulationof the work or of parts of the machine. this object, there is combinedwith such operating mechanism as that for inserting fastenings and witha co-operating jack, or other shoe-support, gaging means to which theforepart of a supported shoe may bedirectly referred, said gauging meansbeing so mounted as to be unaffected by movement of the support. Whenthe support is located above the inserting mechanism, as is often thecase, the gauging means is normally arranged entirely below the work, sothe operator is not inconvenienced by its presence. To provide for usewith shoes of different dimensions, the gauging means is movable uponits mounting. Machines of the type of that disclosed in the previouslymentioned patent, often have a guard to protect persons against injuryby the inserting mechanism, and when such a device is present, itfurnishes an effective mounting for the gauging means. The gaugingmeans, which we prefer to employ, is supplied by an image or imagesproduced upon a portion of the machine as a contrasting effect of lightand shade by a source of light, which, when there is a guard, may besituated therein. By reference to these images the operator may positionthe In the attainment of work. The invention, as herein disclosed,utilizes spaced electric lights between which and the shoe-supporttranslucent screens are interposed, while gauging means, which mayconsist of slotted plates, are interposed between the lights and thescreens. These plates or gauging devices are variable in their locationto adapt them to the positioning of right and left shoes of differentwidths and forms, and also to establish them in the correct relation tothe shoe-support. This may be effected by connecting them to arightand-left screw, and by making said screw adjustable longitudinallyof its axis. To prevent leakage of light past the gauge-plates, shuttersmay be movable with each plate at opposite sides of its slot.

One of the several forms which the invention may assume is illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows our improvedshoe-gauging means in broken side elevation and associated with aheel-attaching machine;

Fig. 2 is a broken top plan view of one of the gauging devices;

Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section through the guard of theheel-attaching machine;

Fig. 4, a broken detail in side elevation of a connecting deviceincluded in the conductors which supply current to the gauge-lights; and

Fig. 5, a section on the line VV of Fig. 4.

At It] appears the frame of a heel-attaching machine of the characteralready referred to. In this frame is arranged for verticalreciprocation a crosshead l2, carrying the die-block of nailor otherfastening-inserting mechanism, and a crosshead l4 upon which are mounteddrivers operating in the passages of the die-block. At It upon thecrosshead I2 is shown a fragment of the usual swing-plate, for holding aheel and toplift and presenting them successively to the attachingmechanism. Above the crosshead I 2 is a shoe-supporting jack 18, withwhich is associated a back-stop l9. At the front of the insertingmechanism a protective device or guard 20 is hinged at 22. It is closedat the front and open at the rear, being thus recessed. When the guardis swung down from the position illustrated in the drawings, access maybe had to the inserting mechanism.

Within the guard, projecting upwardly from the bottom near oppositesides, are perforated bosses 24, 24, each furnishing a seat for anincandescent-light-socket 26. In each socket is a light-bulb 28, theeffective illumination of which may be increased by painting theinterior of the guided to slide at 52 upon the guard and lying beneaththe corresponding screen 38. Partially across each plate 40, from frontto rear of'the guard, a gauge-slotii l extends, and beneath this may beset'a strip 4% of a transparent or translucent colored plastic. In allpositions of the plate 68 effected by rotating'the spind1e 32f, the

slot 4 will lie beneath the screen 39, producing thereon an image in theform of a colored line. By reference to the two spaced lines upon thescreens, 7 the maximum projection of rightandleft shoe-soles near theball-lines may be positioned to give the angular relation of the shoesupon the support to the heel or top-lift in the swing-plate it tocorrectly locate the heel-seat for the attachment of the heel-parts.Obviouslyjthe images, instead of being furnished by lines of light,might consist of shadows cast by a solid light-arresting stripinterposed between the bulbs 28 and the screens as. What isimportant isthat there shall be a contrasting effect of light and shade, furnishinga gauge to which the work may be referred. As the width or degree ofprojection of the shoe-sole changes, the

gauging images may correspondingly be adjusted simultaneously toward orfrom each other along the screws 3 as, by rotating the spindle 32through a finger-piece 5E! thereon. As an initial or setting-upadjustment, the spindle may be moved bodily longitudinally of it axis.To accomplish this, a sleeve 52 surrounds the spindle at the endopposite the finger-piece 5B, it.being threaded into the side Wall ofthe guard 28. Upon this sleeve is a finger-piece 5%, and at its oppositeextremities are collars 56, 56, fast upon the spindle. By turning thefinger-piece 54, the spindle with the two gauge-plates MAW maybeadjusted'together in the same direction for the purpose just indicated.

For the extreme widths of shoe-soles which are to be positioned, theextent of travel of the plates ii! must be considerable, and the lightwhich is projected from the bulbs 28 toward the screens 39, should beconfined to that passing through the slots at. Were the plates alone tocover the screens, it would require said plates to be so wide that thetransverse dimension of the guard 20, necessary to contain them, mightbecome excessive, To avoid this, there is arranged to slide in recessesat the opposite sides of the slot id, in each of the plates, a shuttertill. As is best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, in each shutter thereare three grooves, two of these, 62, 62, being in the upper face, andthe third, 64, in the lower face. Into the grooves 62 project the pointsof'screws -66, 66 threaded downwardly through the top of the guard. Ascrew 68 similarly enters each groove 54, it being threaded upwardlythrough the plate at. The ends of the grooves and the screws are sorelated, that, when the platesa're shifted to the left, after a certainamount of travel, the screws'66 engaging the right ends of their grooveshold back the right shutters; to maintain closed the space beiii tweenthe right ends of the plates and the top wall of the guard. Thereafter,upon movement of the plates to the right, the screw 68 contacts with theright end of its groove and carries the shutter with it. An oppositeefiect is produced for the left shutters. For movement of the plates 40to the right, the action of the shutters is reversed over that for thepreceding adjustment.

To supply current for the bulbs 23, an armored cable 10 may lead intothe heeling machine, it being cleated in place upon the frame at 12 nearthe guard-hinge 22. The conductors of the cable may be continued by aflexible pair 14, j oined'inparallel to the terminals of the socketsI26. .As the guar'd 253 is frequently swung down upon its hinge, toavoid fretting of the conductors there is interposed between the cableand the flexible pair a connecting device C. As appears in Figs. 4 and5, this device is made up of two portions enclosed in casing-sections l6and '78, formed of insulating material. Both sections surround the'hinge-pin 22, 16' being loose upon it but held against turning by thecable in. The section 18 ,is fast upon the hinge-pin. The conductors ofthe cable are attached to arcuate terminal blocks 80,-8fl'secured to thecasing-section 16. Upon'these blocks bear contact-springs 82, 82, fixedto the casing-section i8 and to which the conductors of the pair 14 arejoined. The casing-sections are yieldably forced together by anexpansion-spring SAL-interposed between the section 16 and a collar 86secured to the hingepin. As the guard is turned upon its hinge, thesprings slide over the terminal-blocks, maintaining the circuit withoutstresses being set up in the conductors.

In heeling a pair of shoes, the operator, by rotating the hand-wheel5i], and, therefore, the right-and-left threaded spindle 32, will movethe gauge-plates'tfl, 49 either toward or from each other, This will,for the work in hand, locate upon the screens 30, 30 images in the formof n'arrowvillu'minated strips extending across the top of the guard 20,from front to rear of the heeling machine, and produced 'by the lightpassing upwardly from the two electric lamps 28, 28 through thegauge-slots 44, M. J acking one shoe of a pair, as the right, andsupplying a heel and a top-lift to the swing-plate [6, the operator willglance down at theleft image seen upon its screen, and so turn the shoeabout the vertical axis of the .jack that the maximum projection of thesole, near theball-line, will be vertically alined with such image. Thiscorrectly positions the heel-seat of the shoe with respect to the heel.The length of the gauging image is sufficient to make it effective forall sizes of shoes. For different widths, only infrequent adjustment ofthe gauge-plates is necessary, because the arcs subtended by the anglesthrough which the shoes must be swung is small at the heel-seatascompared with that at the forepart. Therefore, one setting of thegauging means is sufiiciently accurate for a considerable range ofwidths. After the machine has'been actuated, and the heel nailed, thework may be similarly gauged for the attachment of the top-lift. Theprocedure for the left shoe is the same, save that it is positioned byreference tothe right-hand image. The light from the lamps 23 is visibleonly through the slots 44, all the light-rays at the edges of the plates40 which might distract the operator being cut off by the shutters 69.:The entire gauging organization is removed'from the field of operation,adds almost nothing to the bulk of the machine, and in no way interfereswith access to or movement of any part.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for attaching heel-parts to shoes, fastening-insertingmechanism, a movable shoe-support c'o-operating therewith, gauging meansto which the forep'art of a supported shoe may be directly referred anda mounting for the gauging means unaifected by movement of theshoe-support.

2. In a machine for attaching heel-parts to shoes, fastening-insertingmechanism, a shoesupport situated above; the inserting mechanism toco-operate therewith, and gauging means for a supported shoe, saidgauging means being adjacent to the inserting mechanism and normallyentirely below the work.

3. In a machine for attaching heel-parts to shoes, a frame,fastening-inserting mechanism and a shoe-support movable upon the frame,gauging means for a supported shoe mounted upon the frame independentlyof the inserting mechanism and support, and means arranged to move thegauging means upon its mounting to vary the position at which theforepart of the shoe may be presented to it.

4. In a machine for attaching heel-parts to shoes, fastening-insertingmechanism,- a shoesupport co-operating therewith, a guard for theinserting mechanism, and gauging means for a supported shoe mounted uponthe guard.

5. In a machine for attaching heel-parts to shoes, fastening-insertingmechanism, a shoesupport co-operating therewith, a guard for theinserting mechanism, and gauging means for a supported shoe arranged tomove upon the guard.

6. In a machine for attaching heel-parts to shoes, fastening-insertingmechanism, a shoesupport co-operating therewith, a guard movable toeither cover or give access to the inserting mechanism, and gaugingmeans for a supported shoe movable with the guard.

7. In a machine for operating upon shoe-parts, a shoe-support, mechanismfor operating upon a supported shoe, and lighting means producing animage, said image furnishing a gauge by reference to which a supportedshoe may be positioned. I

8. In a shoemaking machine, the combination with means for performing anoperation on a shoe, of means for producing a contrasting eflfect oflight and shade cast upon a portion of the machine and furnishing areference device with relation to which an operator may correctlyposition the work.

9. In a machine for operating upon shoe-parts, a shoe-support, mechanismfor operating upon a supported shoe, lighting means producing an imageupon a portion of the machine, said image furnishing a gauge byreference to which a supported shoe may be positioned, and meansarranged to vary the location of the image upon the machine.

10. In a, machine for operating upon shoeparts, a shoe-support,mechanism for operating upon a supported shoe, and lighting meansproducing a, plurality of images, said images furnishing spaced gaugesby reference to which supported right and left shoes may be positioned.

11. In a machine for attaching heel-parts to shoes, fastening-insertingmechanism, a shoesuppo'rt co -operating therewith, a guard for theinserting mechanism, and lighting means mounted upon the guardandproducing an image, said image furnishing a gauge by reference to whicha supported shoe may be positioned.

12. In a machine for operating upon shoeparts, a shoe-support, mechanismfor operating upon a supported shoe, an electric light associated withthe operating mechanism, a screen interposed between the light and thesupport, and gauging means interposed between the light and the screen.7

13. In a machine for operating upon shoeparts, a shoe-support, mechanismfor operating upon a supported shoe, an electric light associated withthe operating mechanism, a screen interposedbetween the. light and thesupport, and light-arresting means movable between the light and thescreen.

14. In a machine for operating upon sh'oeparts, a shoe-support,mechanism for operating upon a supported shoe, an electric lampassociated with the operating mechanism, a translucent plate interposedbetween the lamp and the support, and a gauge device past which lightfrom the lamp travels to the translucent plate.

15. In a machine for operating upon shoeparts, a, shoe-support,mechanism for operating upon a supported sh'oe, an electric lampassociated with the operating mechanism, a translucent plate interposedbetween the lamp and the support, a gauge device past which the lightfrom the lamp travels to the translucent plate, and means arranged tovary the position of the gauge device.

16. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to co-operate therewith, an electric lightsituated in front of the nailing mechanism, a translucent screeninterposed between the light and the jack, and a slotted plateinterposed between the light and the screen.

17. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to co-operate therewith, an electric lightsituated in front of the nailing mechanism, a translucent screeninterposed between the light and the jack, a slotted plate interposedbetween the light and the screen, and means arranged to vary theposition of the plate transversely of the jack.

18. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to co-operate therewith, spaced electriclights situated at the front of the nailing mechanism, translucentscreens interposed between the respective lights and the jack, and a,slotted gauge-plate interposed between each light and its screen.

19. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to co-operate therewith, a light situated atthe front of the nailing mechanism, a translucent screen interposedbetween the light and the jack, a slotted gauge-plate interposed betweenthe light and the screen, and a shutter movable with th'e gauge-plate ateach side of the slot.

20. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to co-operate therewith, spaced electriclights situated at the front of the nailing mechanism, translucentscreens interposed between the respective lights and the jack, a slottedgaugeplate interposed between ach light and its screen, a shuttermovable with each gauge-plate at each side of the slot, and means forlimiting the movement of each shutter.

21. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mech' anism, a jacksituated'above the nailing mechanism to co-operate therewith, spacedelectric lights situated at the iront'of the nailing mechanism,translucent screens interposed between the respective lights and thejack, a slotted gaugeplate interposed between each light and its screen,and means arranged to move the gauge-plates toward and from each other.J v

22. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to .co-operate therewith, spaced electriclights situated at the front of the nailing mecha nism, translucentscreens interposed between the respective lights and the jack, a slottedgaugeplate interposed'between each light and its screen, means arrangedto move the gauge-plates toward and from each other, and meansarrangedxto move the gauge-plates together transversely of the jack. l Yl "23. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to co-operate'therewith, a guard for thenailing mechanism, said guard having at its top translucent portions,two electric'lights mounted within the guard beneath thetranslucentpcrtions, and light-arresting means. interposed b tween eachlight and the translucent portion of the guard.

24. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mech- 25. In a heel-attachingmachine, nailing mechi anism, a jack situated above the nailingmechanism to ,co-operate therewith, a guard for the nailing mechanism,saidguard having at its top translucent portions, two electric lightsmounted within the guard beneath the translucent portions, a slottedplate interposed between each light and a translucent portion of theguard, and a shutter movable at each side of each slotted plate betweenit and the guard, there being grooves in each shutter extending in thedirection of its movement and projections extending from the plate andguard into the grooves.

263121 a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a'jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to co-operate therewith, a pivoted guard forthe nailing mechanism, said guard having at its top a translucentportion, an electric lamp mounted within the guard beneaththe'translucent portion, supply conductors for the lamp, light-arrestingmeans interposed between the lamp and the translucent portion of theguard, and a contact device associated with the pivot of the guard andhaving relatively movable portions by which the circuit through theconductors is maintained.

27. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to co-operate therewith, a guard for thenailing mechanism, said guard having at its top translucent portions,twoelectric lights mounted within the guard beneath the translucentportions, aright-and-left screw'rotatable at the top of the guard, and aslotted plate interposed be-' tween each light and a translucent portionof the guard and having threadedengagement with one of the portions ofthe screw.

28. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to co-operate therewith, aguard for thenailing mechanism, said guard having at its top translucent portions,:two' electric lights mounted within the guard beneath the translucentportions, a right-and-left screw rotatable at the top of the guard, aslotted plate interposed between each light and a translucent portion ofthe guard and having threaded engagement with one of the portions of thescrew, and means arranged to move the screw upon the guardlongitudinally of its axis: I

29. In a heel-attaching machine, nailing mechanism, a jack situatedabove the nailing mechanism to co-operate therewith, a guard for thenailing mechanism, said guard having at its top translucent portions,two electric lights mounted within the guard. beneath the translucentportions, a right-and-left screw rotatable at the top of the guard, aslotted .plate interposed between each light and a translucent portionof the guard and having threaded engagement with one of the portions ofthe screw, and a sleeve threaded into the guard and in which the screwis rotatable.

ARTHUR L. RUSSELL. JOHN T. LANCASTER.

